Is Your Hotel Thermostat Rigged?

Sorry, You Can't Do Anything About Your Freezing Hotel Room

Have you ever wondered why hotel rooms are so freezing most of the time? And why you can't seem to do anything about it? Could it be a vast hospitality-industry conspiracy?

Well, yes, kind of. According to The Wall Street Journal, apparently many hotel thermostats have an override feature that maintains control over the temperature — which means, sorry, you have no say in it. And while some travelers have figured out how to hack the system (basically "override the override," as the Buzz60 video below says), new devices can now block that, too.

Many hotels have invested in high-tech, energy-saving thermostats that can detect heat and motion, even adjusting temperature when someone opens a window or exits the room. So while you can't crank the heat or AC, the temps are still subtly changing, ostensibly to make you more comfortable.

And don't believe everything the thermostat tells you: The WSJ reported that they can be off by as much as 20% due to poor maintenance.